delegates at a conference right now. >> the director of was the 1942 conference that the anc should have 1 million members. in other words, there is no member that has not paid his dues. if we say they are in good standing.

the anc remains popular with the masses about our people, not only to vote for it, but to join it as members. we may be the only organization that is growing all the time. not staffed by a few members, but many. today, december 16, is the day in which the anc launched the season in 1961. in south africa, we marked the 16th as the national day of reconciliation, \. .

>> our reporter is there. what can you tell us about what was said and how is he being received? >> we have seen a confident jacob zuma. he was doing what he does so well. he has the talent for waking up a room. the anc has a lot of issues to deal with and a lot of infighting. when coverage started, some delegates stood up and had issues with the president and the anc. he was cleverly told to be quiet. we are seeing some people who were booing him in the background. people are happy with this conference. what is he going to say in his speech to convince people that

he is the right man for the job? the speech will be important in terms of the tone and content of it. will it in a fight and fight a party, or will it alienate political opponents even more? >> this is not just a stomping exercise. he is being opposed by his deputy. what are the implications should he lose? >> if he loses, it shows the party is really divided. it shows he is not popular within certain delegates in the anc. analysts say he probably will not lose. we are hearing from people who are worried about vote rigging and intimidation. will they be allowed to exercise

their rights gimmal ultimately, people realize ordinary -- will they be able to exercise their rights? the delicate insides behind me will vote for someone who will push their own interests. they will side with people who continue to represent their interests. the average person on the street is hoping that after the infighting has gone on, the anc members will look after the interests of the person on the street. can he bring the parties together? can he unite the anc? people lose out or lose hope or become discontented or unhappy with the ruling anc party.

>> thank you. in egypt, people have voted narrowly in favor of the new draft constitution after the first round of the country's referendum. all of the votes have been counted. vote was held in cairo and other counties. the rest of the people will all stay in the second round, which will be held on saturday. >> with all 10 governments who were voting in the first stage of the referendum having finished their accounts, we have a general picture of the way things are looking at the moment. it will be quite difficult for the opposition movement to turn things around from here. that is because cairo and alexandria have both cast their ballots on this first day of voting. it is the rural areas of egypt that is left to vote in the second round of voting.

it is the world areas of egypt that are broadly conservative -- the rural areas of the jets that are broadly conservative and supportive of the muslim brotherhood. you generally have the populace that is more predisposed to vote yes to this constitution and in line with what the muslim brotherhood and president more see what easy to look like over the coming years. -- president morsi wants egypt to look like in coming years. >> the opposition have won a convincing majority. many said they were undecided when voting began in tokyo. >> japan's voters have a lot on their minds. from a struggling economy to the struggle to restore its international status. no single party appears to have all of the answers.

part of the problem is the inability of the political parties to excise the voters and the general apathy about any of the choices offered. this is the leader of the democratic party who is likely to win, gaining support from voters who was disillusioned with other choices. the prime minister has seen a dramatic traversal of fortune since he came to power three years ago. >> i want to the democratic party of japan to stay in power in the longer because i still have hope for them. >> i voted for the liberal democrats because they have been in power for a long time and that gives me a sense of security. >> i want to the liberal democrats to take a firm stance on international issues and improve the economy. >> that echoes the opinion of many in japan that the ldp will

restore international supremacy. capitalizing on nationalist sentiment, this man could produce an upset if his right wing japan restoration party when banks enough seats to hold the balance of power. -- wins enough seats to hold the balance of power. a sudden lurch to the far right under a nationalist coalition government. >> it is said to have the worst performing time in the world. coming up after the break, we will go to sudan where prices have tripled and anger is rising. plus -- ♪ a group of teenagers are turning

trash into a musical treasures. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> we will start by checking up on the progress of cyclone evan. it is making its way away from american samoa. it is drifting toward fiji. these pictures are coming out of samoa recently. ankle deep mud. many houses have been flattened and the whole country is without power and water. that can be the case for a couple of weeks. it will make its way to the north of fiji. significantly high wind gusts. strong this winds will be on the western flank of the storm.

we are looking at flooding coming to most of the country over the next 24-36 hours. intense downpours in the northern territory. farther south, it is largely dry. timber shares in sydney are 22 degrees. it is trying 9:30

p.m. eastern here on link tv. >> hello again. a recap of our top stories on al

jazeera. the names of 20 children killed at the sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut have been released. south african prime minister jacob zuma is speaking at a conference. and the conservative liberal democratic party has been returned to power in japan. the party has secured a 2/3 majority in the lower house. hundreds of protesters have been blocked from staging a rally outside kuwait's parliament. politicians have been groot -- coleen their first sessions -- politicians have been holding their first sessions. >> the first set of reforms start with the meeting to

analyze and look at reasons so that reforms can be dealt with in a better way. the parliament has the responsibility of planning and preparing a program that can be put into practice. >> in syria, gun battles have been reported in a refugee camp in damascus, home to thousands of palestinian refugees. these pictures show some of the fighting. some palestinians short president assad. others have joint -- some palestinian support president assad. others have joined the opposition groups. the price of food in sudan has tripled in recent months. the country's labor union has warned the government that it should not increase the price of basic commodities like bread and sugar in next year's budget.

we have a report from khartoum. >> sue data is facing one of its toughest economic crises. the-sudan is facing one of its worst economic -- the sudan is facing one of his toughest economic crises. >> there is a shortage and all of the important items are bought by u.s. dollars. >> the prices of meat, poultry, vegetables, and fruits are rising too. >> many people cannot come near the market because of prices. we come you are relying on god. >> my income is little. i struggle to make ends meet. we demand the government intervene to control it.

>> many here are poor. now their situation is worse. sudan has lost more than 75% of its oil revenue went south sudan broke away last year. the government decided to cut its subsidies on basic commodities. with the currency dropping against the u.s. dollar, the prices of basic food items increase. the government says it must adopt austerity measures and cut spending. in june, a government decision to increase the prices of sugar led to scenes like these across the country. officials at the imf say more crops are needed to lower the deficit. this economist blames the government for the crisis. >> is the responsibility of the entire system. the state is irresponsible for

the economic instability for increasing the exchange rate and the rise in inflation. merchants raid -- merchants make huge profits. people pay more to buy what they need. >> many fear an economic collapse, which can lead to more we cement and a revolt. >> pakistan's interior minister is in india holding talks with officials there. the two countries are trying to take steps to these visa restrictions for travelers. >> interaction between state to state must come down. the visa policy reflects how seriously both governments feel

about this policy, which is going to be beneficial to the people of india and pakistan. but this new agreement will allow more freedom and movement between the two -- this new agreement will allow more freedom and movement between the two countries. >> if we get ourselves killed from terrorist, we will into nowhere. we want to fight terrorism and extremism and all of the groups goal commonly together. the way we are moving forward, like sharing information that the intelligence level -- now they will be seeing the investigative work at the fia level. they will connect at every level. >> police in pakistan say 5

taliban members have been killed. police have been searching for the group who they say drove a vehicle packed with explosives onto an airfield. women who were of the bill -- women who were of the update and rates -- women who were of the ticket and raped -- adbucted and raped. >> she was 23 years old when she was adopted by pakistani forces. she accuses bangladeshi collaborators for the attack. she is one of the few women who is willing to speak up about the crimes committed during the war. >> they went from the village to village burning homes and raping

women. why should they pay for the crimes committed? >> now a war crimes tribunal has arrested 11 people they say responsible for some of those crimes. prosecutors accuse them of crimes against humanity. during the war, he publicly admitted to supporting pakistan. >> i am not against the trial. the development of the past few months have shown that the process is flawed. it is a problem. >> the developments include the resignation of the tribunal's chief judge. on wednesday, he gave up his post after his record discussions were links to the media and posted on line. he was talking to lawyers about one of the defendants on trial.

we cannot show you this conversation because of a court order. he doesn't miss he was under pressure to reach a certain -- he admits he was under pressure to reach a certain verdict. >> the trial was fair. it cannot be pushed by any standard from any angle. >> defense lawyers say they are not getting a fair trial. it is outside the bangladesh war crimes tribunal where defense witnesses say one of their people was conducted. this witness has never been seen since. bangladeshi security forces denied any wrongdoing in the of the action of the witness. they say under these circumstances, the -- there can be no fair hearing. further delays will only prolong

the healing process. she says she wants politics out of the trial and hopes for a search for justice will unite all and can no longer a drag on. >> preparations are underway in fiji as cyclone evan continues barreling toward the islands. it has already caused four people to go missing in american samoa. >> houses are flattened and most of the islands are without power. people like this woman sift through what is left of their homes. >> we are going to survive with my daughter and my son. >> a tsunami devastated samoa three years ago. this time, the damage is worse. the storm has forced thousands into evacuation locations.

>> it has not really hit us yet. we are glad we are able to help. >> the default are turning to god, praying for a swift recovery and for those missing. -- the devout are turning to god, praying for a swift recovery and for those who are missing. while it looks like business as usual, the fourth pass street winds of 200 kilometers per hour will be within -- winds of 200 kilometers per hour will be coming through here. >> acting on the wishes of a billionaire businessman. it sounds like the elements of a

cheap novel. it is a real story involving debt default, maritime maneuvers, and transatlantic tensions. an international court may have to come to the rescue. >> the argentinian navy frigot. and ehrlich, it and its crew would be sailing around the end -- ordinarily, it and its crew would be sailing around the atlantic ocean. it is being held because an american hedge fund says the government in buenos aires owes its hundreds of millions of done was on a 10 year-old debt default. the sailors who were allowed to leave ghana in october were not allowed to follow suit because of a recent ruling. reaction in argentina was swift and supportive. >> the decision by the

international tribunal for the law of the scene shows a total support of the people and the government - of the sea shows close support of the people and the government. >> the court were asked -- was asked to impound the boat until payment was received from buenos aires. this court ruling